


Crisis

by Nightwinging_it



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22824340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightwinging_it/pseuds/Nightwinging_it
Summary: When Scott Ryder receives a transmission that shows his boyfriend Reyes Vidal being held captive and tortured, he must quickly scrape together a plan to save him in the face of an obvious trap.
Relationships: Male Ryder | Scott/Reyes Vidal
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	Crisis

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this on and off for a few days and wasn't sure if I'd ever post it, but I decided to throw it out there! Also, sorry for the super lame title, I'm just in a bit of a rush to get this posted and couldn't think of anything :')

“Aw, come on, Ryder!” Liam said, reaching.

“Nope,” Scott said, twisting his body away so Liam couldn’t steal the last bite of the cookie he’d snagged. He stuffed it in his mouth, chewed, and opened his mouth to show Liam his dessert.

“Gross,” Liam said, shoving an elbow into Scott’s back. “Can’t believe you managed to get the last one. Next time, I call dibs.”

“I’m the Pathfinder. I get special perks,” Scott reminded. 

“Yea, fuck you,” Liam said, but he was grinning. “I still won that bet so I get to use up all the hot water in the shower.” 

“Ryder!” Gil caught up to them. “When I should start prepping the ship for take-offs? You said we were only sticking around Kadara a few days. I don’t like the way some of these people are eyeing our ship.”

Scott slowed his pace. He had told his crew they were only stopping by Kadara for a few days. They had a situation to check on in Ditaeon, but they’d wrapped that up two days ago.

But he also hadn’t heard from Reyes in those two days.

Reyes usually kept in touch with Scott, especially when Scott was on Kadara. But even if he was deep in a job, he almost always warned Scott when he was going dark so Scott wouldn’t worry.

What made it worse was that, to Scott’s knowledge, Reyes hadn’t even been running a job. He’d been overseeing some smuggling jobs from the relative safety of his room. But when Scott went there the last few times, Reyes wasn’t there. No sign of struggle, no clues left behind to let Scott know where he went, and no one having seen him since he’d last left roughly two days prior. 

Scott was worried. 

“Ryder?”

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Gil and Liam. Both had a knowing expression on their face.

“Let me run by his place one last time. We’ll leave tomorrow morning if I don’t hear anything,” he said reluctantly. He didn’t want to leave, but there was no sign Reyes was in trouble. If he’d had to suddenly run out on a job and go dark, there was nothing Scott could do but wait to hear from him. 

“Alright.” Gil clapped him on the shoulder before taking off.

“Come on, let’s go play cards with Vetra,” Liam encouraged. 

Scott shook his head. “Thanks, but I’m going to check his place again. Maybe I missed something.”

“Ryder, he’s probably fine. Just smuggler business, my guess,” Liam said.

“Still,” Scott said, starting down the hall.

He nearly ran right into Cora, who managed to put her hands out and catch herself on his shoulders. They both recovered their balance, and she dropped her hands.

“I was looking for you,” she said. “There’s a video communication trying to come through. Anonymous source. We can’t tell who or where it’s coming from.”

Scott hated the small spark of hope that blossomed in his chest. Was Reyes finally getting ahold of him?

“Let’s see what’s up,” he said, pleased at how calm his voice sounded despite his suddenly rapid heartbeat. 

They went up and Scott eyed the blinking light on the monitor. The others were waiting in the room, either out of curiosity or boredom. Scott knew there wasn’t much for them to do on Kadara currently. 

“Put whoever it is through,” he instructed.

“As you wish, Pathfinder,” SAM said. “I will attempt to trace the signal.”

The monitor came alive with a dark image. It was a moment before whoever was on the other end seemed to realize they’d finally been put through.

“Pathfinder,” they said, their voice digitized to disguise it. 

Scott’s heart sank, and anxiety settled where hope had dared to tread earlier.

“Yes?” he said cautiously. “Who is this?”

The view shifted, and Scott’s breath caught in his throat. He heard some of his crew let out audible gasps at the sight. 

The world narrowed to the monitor, his ears ringing. He lost track of everything but the sight on the screen.

Reyes. 

Reyes, blood matted in his hair, his head hanging down. Reyes, bound tightly to a chair in an otherwise empty room. 

“I believe we have something you want, Pathfinder,” the voice said.

A person appeared on the screen, their face hidden by a mask. They went over to Reyes and yanked his head up roughly by his hair. Reyes hissed in pain.

His cheek was swollen and bruised, and dried blood trailed from his nose to his lip. He tried to focus on the camera, but the light in the room seemed to be causing him pain.

“A concussion,” Vetra muttered from somewhere behind Scott. 

Scott jumped a little, having forgotten everyone was in there with him. He stared helplessly at the monitor.

“What do you want?” His voice came out fierce, driven by anger. 

“Money,” the voice said. Whoever was speaking wasn’t the person holding Reyes. “We will send you a ransom note. You will deliver the money to the nav point we give you, alone. Anyone else comes with you, we kill him. Slowly.”

The person holding Reyes produced a knife from their belt and held it to Reyes’ throat. Reyes went still.

“Send it,” Scott ground out. “But I won’t pay you a fucking cent if you hurt him anymore.” 

“Oh, I think you will, Pathfinder,” the voice said.

The person with the knife shifted it and shoved it into Reyes’ shoulder. Reyes swore loudly, gritting his teeth but groaning in pain as the knife was twisted and then savagely yanked out of his shoulder.

“Scott...don’t...come…” Reyes managed.

“Shut up.” The person with the knife dug their fingers into the fresh wound, and Reyes cried out in pain.

“Stop!” Scott cried in alarm. “Stop, just send me the information and I’ll pay you!” 

“Don’t!” Reyes gasped, any other words cut off by more cries of pain as the person dug their fingers into the wound harder, pulling at the torn flesh there.

“Stop,” Scott begged again. “I’ll cooperate. Just stop hurting him.”

The person finally pulled their hand away from the wound. Reyes slumped over in pain, breathing heavily. 

He weakly lifted his head. “Don’t do it Scott,” he choked out. “Please, don’t-”

His screams cut off his words as the wound was tormented yet again. Scott’s knees felt weak, nausea creeping up from his stomach to his throat.

“We will send you the information, Pathfinder,” the voice said, and the feed cut off.

Scott staggered. Cora hurried to steady him.

“I have to go,” Scott said frantically.

“Ryder! This is clearly a trap. If it was about money, they wouldn’t need you to personally deliver it. They’re trying to get you alone,” Cora said.

“They’re torturing Reyes!” Scott cried. “I don’t care if it’s a fucking trap. I’m not leaving him, Cora. I’m not.”

“How did they even get him? He’s the most paranoid man I’ve ever met. No way he’d be taken by surprise,” Liam said.

“Well, he was,” Vetra said, gesturing to her head. “Did you see the blood in his hair? They struck him from behind. I’d guess he’ll need stitches for the wound if the blood is anything to go by. A concussion, no doubt. There are a lot of ways they could’ve gone about it if they were careful.”

Scott felt restless, panicked. These people had Reyes hostage. They were torturing him. And Vetra was right; the amount of blood matting his hair likely meant he had a bad wound on his head that needed medical attention. 

“I need to get to him,” Scott said, his voice strained. 

“I know,” Cora said, squeezing his arm. “But we need a plan. SAM, did you get anything?”

“No. The signal is badly scrambled. It would take me several hours to trace it,” SAM said. 

“That was the interior of an Initiative ship,” Gil said. “Some of the smaller scout ships were stolen in the uprising. I’d guess he’s being held on one of those.” 

Scott ran his hands through his hair. Unable to stay still any longer, he began pacing the room.

“Ryder, we’ll save him. We will,” Cora promised. “But we can’t just go charging in. If those people get their hands on you, Reyes becomes disposable to them. Right now, he’s the only thing ensuring your cooperation. They’d be foolish to kill him. We have time.”

Logically, Scott knew she was right. Emotionally, he couldn’t just sit around making plans when he knew those sick fucks were torturing Reyes. Cora was right that they likely wouldn’t kill him if they wanted to trap Scott; but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t maim him. 

Vetra took control of the situation, realizing Scott was in no mental shape for this. “Cora, you and Ryder go see how much money you can scrape together just in case. SAM, keep tracking that signal. If they lead Ryder to a location that isn’t the same as that feed just came from, we’ll have to be on high alert. Jaal, go tell Lexi to have the med bay prepped for when we recover Reyes. He’s going to need immediate medical attention after that stab wound. Gil, get us ready to move as soon as we hear something. Liam, you and I will get weapons ready. The rest of you, stay here and wait for that ransom note.” 

Scott let himself be pulled from the room with Cora. He couldn’t stop picturing the agonized expression on Reyes’ face as that person tore at his wound.

Reyes was a pilot, not a soldier. Being the Charlatan meant he was used to fighting from the shadows, relying on stealth and coordinated attacks. He didn’t have the kind of advanced training to resist torture like an N7 would. Mentally, he could snap if they kept at it like that. 

Time seemed to move in a blur. Cora sat him down as she went about checking their funds. He thought she might’ve contacted the Nexus about the situation, but his ears were ringing again, and it was hard to make out the sounds going on around him. 

This was his fault. They were using Reyes to get to him. Reyes was suffering because of him. 

“Ryder!” Cora shook his shoulder. He blinked up at her. “You with me?”

Scott closed his eyes and dug his nails into his palms, taking a deep breath. Reyes needed him. He couldn’t lose his composure.

“Yes,” he said, opening his eyes. 

“Alright,” she said, pulling him to his feet. “Come on. I’ve got the funds set. Jaal is having some of his allies discreetly question around Kadara to see if anyone knows what happened. Right now, the last anyone saw of Reyes was leaving Kralla’s Song, but Umi said he didn’t drink anything while he was there. He met with a woman, but Keema confirmed she was a Collective agent, and that she couldn’t have played a role in Reyes’ kidnapping because she didn’t leave the bar for another two hours.”

Scott scrubbed a hand down his face, trying to shove his emotions to the far corner of his mind. He had to be the Pathfinder right now.

“Okay. Okay, so we don’t know who took him, but we know they did it to get me alone,” he said. “Liam is right; Reyes is a paranoid man. He rarely drops his guard. It’s a possibility we’re dealing with a traitor. Someone who Reyes trusted to get close enough to knock him out.”

“It’s possible,” Cora agreed. “But we shouldn’t go threatening our allies just yet. They could’ve found another way to distract him just enough to take him down.” 

“They haven’t sent the ransom note yet,” Scott said.

“Probably to make you anxious. The more anxious you are, the less focused you’ll be,” Cora said.

“Yea, well, it’s working,” Scott muttered. He took another deep breath. “There’s not much planning we can do before we know the location. If it’s a ship, it’ll be nearly impossible to sneak any of you in with me, though.” 

“Not necessarily,” Gil said, entering the room with them. “I’ve been thinking it over. If it’s a stolen scout ship, we might be able to sneak someone on board. Those ships have emergency exits SAM should be able to open. But for the sake of discretion, I’d say just one person, and they’ll likely be on the other end of the ship from you.”

“It’s better than sending him alone,” Cora said. “If we’re going for discretion, we can’t send Drack. Vetra’s is an iffy choice, but she could do it if you really wanted her to.”

Scott let out a tired laugh. “You mean you don’t think Drack could sneak around a ship without being detected?”

“You could always send Peebee. She’s expert at keeping quiet,” Gil said. 

Scott looked to Cora. “As tempting as those two are, I think it should be you. Your biotics would give us an extra advantage.”

Cora nodded. “Alright. Gil, will Kallo be able to get me in undetected?”

“Should be able to. SAM should be able to knock out sensors on a scout ship long enough to sneak you on board,” Gil said. “I’ll go let Kallo know. This is all under the assumption that the meeting place is a scout ship, though. They could’ve moved him by now.” 

Gil left, and Cora and Scott returned to where the others were gathered. Liam and Vetra had brought up gear so they could be ready to go in an instant.

Cora explained their tentative plan to the others, who seemed nervous to be left behind on such a mission. But it was unavoidable, and they knew it. 

“Hey, hey!” Liam said, shushing their lighthearted protests. “Look. Something just came through.”

Scott surged forward to the terminal. Sure enough, a message had come through.

“SAM, trace it back to sender,” he said, and let his eyes roam over it while the others crowded in behind him to get a look.

“Shit, that’s a lot of money,” Peebee said. “I wouldn’t pay more than five credits for someone like Reyes.”

Scott was spared having to elbow her by her pained grunt. Someone else had taken care of the job for him.

“Pathfinder, it will take me time to decipher where the message was sent from,” SAM announced. “And I am still working on the location of the video feed.”

“Keep at it, then,” Scott said.

“Shit, they want those credits in an hour. And it’ll take us about that long to get to the nav point,” Vetra said. “They must know we’re on Kadara. They’re giving us just the travel time to set a plan.”

“We won’t know if it’s a scout ship until we reach the nav point,” Cora said.

“Then we work under the assumption that’s what we’re headed to,” Scott said as he put in the coordinates to check where they were going. “It seems likely, given the location we’re meeting at. SAM, send the nav point to Kallo and tell him to get us there as soon as possible.” 

“Yes, Pathfinder,” SAM said. 

Once the ship was moving, Scott felt simultaneously better and worse. They were heading out to save Reyes, but their plan was flimsy at best and useless at worst. 

Rather than let his thoughts consume him, he focused on readying himself for the mission. He and Cora prepared their armor and guns. They loaded the required credits into an account to transfer in the event that Scott found himself with no other choice to save Reyes. He highly doubted Reyes’ captors would let him leave alive, but he had to be prepared for anything.

He and Cora joined Kallo, wanting to see where they’d be infiltrating. As their target finally came into view, Scott nearly slumped with relief. 

“A scout ship,” Kallo announced. He frowned. “Ryder, incoming transmission.”

Scott tensed. “Patch it through.”

Kallo allowed the transmission through. It was nothing but static for a few moments until a voice came through.

“Pathfinder, you will board the ship alone. Your ship will then be instructed to back away. If anyone besides you boards the ship, or if the Tempest disobeys our orders, we will kill Vidal,” the voice from before said. More static, and then Scott’s heart lurched as Reyes’ pained cry came over the transmission. The voice spoke over it. “As you can see, this is no empty threat. Try to go outside of our orders, and we will kill him slowly, over a live feed for you and your friends to enjoy.”

“I’ll come alone,” Scott said coldly. “But before I board that ship, I want confirmation he’s alive and that this isn’t a recording. I want a video feed of him, and I want to speak to him.”

A brief silence, the sound of Reyes’ panting in the background. “Very well.”

Scott waited anxiously for the video feed to come through. On the screen, Reyes was coated in blood and sweat. His chest heaved, his face strained as he fought back more cries of pain. The wound on his shoulder was bad. It had been torn at more, and the angry red inflammation spoke of infection.

“Reyes,” Scott said, desperately trying to keep his voice level for Reyes’ sake. “Reyes, can you hear me?”

Reyes slowly lifted his head. A black eye had been added to his facial wounds. He let loose a shuddered breath. “T-trap. D-don’t.”

Scott swallowed hard. “Reyes, I’m getting you out of there. I promise. Just hang in there.”

Reyes shook his head weakly, his eyes widening a little. “Scott, don’t. Leave,” he pleaded.

The video feed cut off. “Board the ship, Pathfinder. You had your confirmation.”

The transmission cut off. Scott and Cora exchanged a look, nodding at each other.

“I’ll board one of the emergency exits and stealth my way to your location,” Cora said as Kallo flew them in cautiously towards the scout ship. “SAM, keep me updated on where you guys are.”

“Yes, Cora,” SAM said. “I will be able to briefly knock out the signal so the scout ship can’t detect the Tempest. You’ll have just under two minutes to board the ship before the signal comes back online.”

“I can work with that,” Kallo said. 

Cora squeezed Scott’s shoulder, and the two went down to prepare to leave the ship. The captors hadn’t ordered Scott to come unarmed, so he checked his ammo once more before readying himself.

As soon as he got the clear from Kallo, he descended onto the scout ship. His heart thudded in his chest as he was adjusted to the pressure in the ship before stepping into a narrow hallway.

Before he could go far, a voice came over the speakers of the ship. “Pathfinder, leave your weapons there. Try to resist, and…” Reyes’ choked cry of pain rang out.

Scott immediately dropped his gun to the ground. “I’m here. I’m complying with you. You don’t need to hurt him anymore.” He set the rest of his weapons on the ground. Thanks to his biotics, his body was a weapon in its own right. Still, he would’ve felt better with a gun in his hands.

“Proceed down the hall,” the voice ordered.

Scott did so, but he hadn’t made it far before the voice cried out, “Stop!”

Scott froze, heart slamming.

“Pathfinder.” Despite the distorting of the voice, it sounded furious. “We’ve lost our scanner. We can’t see your ship. If you’re trying anything…”

“I’m not,” Scott said hastily. “I came alone, like you asked. I have the credits ready to transfer.”

“I’m going to reset the scanner. If I don’t see your ship on it where I ordered it to be, I’m cutting off all the fingers on our captive’s right hand,” the voice said.

Scott’s eyes widened in horror. 

“Pathfinder,” SAM said in his head. “Do not worry. Cora has just boarded, and the Tempest is retreating to where they were ordered to be. They will be in position when the scanner comes back online.”

Scott closed his eyes, wet his lips. He took a slow breath, trying desperately to cling to his composure. He would never forgive himself if this plan went wrong and Reyes suffered for it.

It was a tense minute before the voice spoke again. “Proceed. There better not be anymore anomalies, Pathfinder.”

Scott bit back a retort and kept walking down the hall. The voice guided him through the ship, all the while SAM assuring Scott in his mind that he was sending the path to Cora to help her find him.

Finally, he reached a door. Next to it was a table with a single injector on it.

“Pick it up, and inject yourself,” the voice said calmly. “We will not risk your biotics causing havoc.”

“It’s a tranquilizer,” SAM informed him. “Once injected, you’ll have maybe ten minutes before you fall unconscious from the effects.”

“I won’t use my biotics,” Scott said. “I’m not injecting myself with that. Send me to wherever you need me to transfer the credits. You don’t even have to deal with me personally.”

Reyes cried out over the speaker. “He’s losing a lot of blood, Pathfinder,” the voice said. 

Scott picked up the injector and plunged it into his arm.

SAM would guide Cora to him. He had to trust that she would protect him if he couldn’t get out before his ten minutes was up.

“Pathfinder,” SAM said, sounding disappointed in Scott’s decision. “I will monitor your body. Cora is nearby, but I’ve told her to stay put. They are clearly monitoring you here. She might try another path in case Mr. Vidal is in another room.”

“Enter the room,” the voice said. 

The door slid open and Scott stepped through. This room held only a terminal.

“Deposit the credits,” the voice ordered.

“Not until I have Reyes,” Scott said, clenching his fists. “Bring him here, and I’ll give you the credits.”

“That’s not how this works, Pathfinder,” the voice said. When Scott didn’t move, the voice sighed. “Cut his pinky off first.”

“Wait, wait, okay!” Scott said, hurrying forward. “Okay, I’m transferring the credits.”

He reluctantly transferred the credits. If they caught these guys, they’d get the credits back. But it wasn’t the money he was worried about.

As soon as the transfer went through, Scott heard the door behind him shut. He spun around, and realized he was trapped in the room.

“The tranquilizer will have you down in a few minutes,” the voice said, sounding pleased.

“Let Reyes go. You can keep me,” Scott said.

The ship gave a lurch as it started moving. Scott steadied himself against the wall as a wave of dizziness struck him. Shit. 

“He’ll be dead when you wake up,” the voice said, and then it was gone.

“SAM!” Scott said, running to the door and pressing his hand along it, trying to pry it open. 

It was a too-long moment before the door jerked open. Scott slipped through, staggered, and pushed himself forward. 

“Get back in the room, Pathfinder,” the voice said, followed by a whimper from Reyes. Scott jerked to a halt. “We figured your SAM would help you escape. That’s why we’re keeping him alive for the moment. You didn’t think we-”

There was a crash, a yell, and then the sound of gunfire. The speakers above went dead.

“Cora,” Scott breathed. “SAM, where are they?”

SAM guided him through the ship. The gunfire got louder as Scott ran along, trying to fight off the growing unsteadiness in his body.

“Five minutes before you’re down,” SAM warned. 

Scott ran faster.

He stumbled a few times, his legs starting to tingle with numbness. He reached the door SAM indicated and caught himself on the wall as the room lazily spun around his vision. He shook his head, desperate to cling to consciousness until Reyes was safe.

SAM opened the door for him and Scott dashed in. Immediately, his shields absorbed two shots. He flung his hand out, channeling his biotics into a barrier to protect himself.

The barrier wavered, and Scott cursed. The tingling was spreading through his body.

But then he spotted Reyes.

Reyes was still bound to the chair, slumped over in a way that had Scott wondering if he was even conscious. Blood covered him, that shoulder wound alarming. 

Cora stood before him, her biotics shielding them. With her free hand, she was firing on three assailants, all heavily armored and with their faces covered.

Scott scrambled over to them. He had no time to check Reyes; the immediate threat needed to be dealt with.

“Cora,” Scott said, his words starting to slur. “Let’s blast these sick fucks.”

Cora nodded. The two braces themselves before flinging their arms out, their biotics rushing forward in a powerful wave.

It slammed into their opponents. The three were sent flying into the wall, but only one of them didn’t get back up. The other two were clearly wounded, but they began firing on Scott and Cora again.

Cora pushed one of her extra guns into Scott’s hands before bringing up another barrier. Scott’s fingers twitched in protest as he pulled the trigger. 

His vision wavered. He ground his teeth together. He was almost out of time. He had to protect Reyes. 

Scott took a deep breath, drew up all the power inside himself, and looked at the shooters. He recognized the one as the person who’d been stabbing Reyes. 

Anger whipped through him, and he released it in the form of his biotics. The person who’d stabbed Reyes hit the wall so hard Scott vaguely wondered if they’d even survive the blow.

Cora used the hesitation of the other assailant to spray bullets at him until his shield shattered. She shot him in the gut, painful but not immediately fatal, and he cried out as he went down. 

With them taken care of, Scott spun around and dropped to his knees. He reached his trembling hands out to gently cup Reyes’ cheeks.

“Reyes?” he said softly.

Reyes cracked his eyes open. They were unfocused for a few moments before finding Scott.

Faint alarm flickered across his expression. “T-trap.”

“I know,” Scott said, caressing his thumb on Reyes’ cheek. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

His vision wavered again, and he swayed dangerously. He looked to Cora.

“Get him...to safety…” he managed.

“I promise,” Cora said seriously. 

Scott rested his head in Reyes’ lap as another wave of dizziness struck him with brutal force. He let his hands rest on Reyes’ legs, feeling him trembling but alive beneath him. 

He lost consciousness.

***

Scott groaned as he awoke. He pressed a hand to his aching head.

“Ryder, good, you’re up,” Lexi said, hovering over him. “How do you feel? I’ve had SAM monitoring you as the tranquilizer left your system.”

“I feel like someone stuffed cotton in my head,” Scott muttered.

“Well, at least it’s not empty up there anymore,” Lexi said. Scott scowled at her. 

He tried to remember what had happened. The tranquilizer...the ship…

“Reyes!” he said, trying to get up. 

Lexi shoved him back down on the bed. “Reyes is recovering. Cora protected the two of you until the others got aboard the ship to extract you and his captors.” 

She turned him so he could see the bed Reyes was lying on. Scott made a small noise in the back of his throat, some mix of pain and relief.

“The wound on his shoulder was bad. I cleaned it and put him on antibiotics for the infection, then stitched it up. I stitched the wound on the back of his head too. He has a broken arm, a concussion, and plenty of lesser wounds. But he will make a full recovery. Physically, at least,” Lexi said.

Scott winced at that. He knew the mental stress an event like that could have. 

“Has he woken up?” Scott asked.

Lexi shook her head. “I put him under while I tended to him. It hasn’t worn off yet. I’d guess he’ll be out the rest of the night.”

She helped Scott out of his bed. His legs nearly gave out, but Lexi kept him upright. She guided him carefully to a chair next to Reyes’ bed, lowering him into it.

Even in his sleep, Reyes’ face was screwed up in pain. His shirt was off, his arm now in a cast and resting across his stomach. The wound on his shoulder was covered by thick bandages. Lexi had carefully turned his head, and Scott could see where she’d stitched the wound on his head. 

Scott’s throat felt dry, so he cleared it a few times. “The people who took him?”

“We’re en route to the Nexus to lock them up and question them. The others haven’t been able to get much from them yet,” Lexi said.

“You were the target.”

Scott looked over his shoulder. Liam was hovering in the doorway.

“Like she said, we haven’t been able to get much. But as far as we can tell, they didn’t know he was the Charlatan,” Liam said. “They were planning to take you and the credits, kill Reyes, and flee. Kallo had to chase the ship down. There were five of them in total, three humans, one angara, and a salarian.” 

“Affiliations?” Scott asked. 

“The angara was Roekaar, we’re pretty sure. Only one of the humans has a known affiliation to the Outcasts. The other three were anti-Initiative, having left after the uprising. Our best guess is that they were going to use you as leverage against the Initiative for resources and credits,” Liam said. “They took Reyes to ensure your cooperation. But we still don’t know how they managed to capture him. We’ll know more once we question them on the Nexus. We warned them we were coming.” 

Scott’s head was still swimming with information and tranquilizer. He pressed his fingers to his temples, rubbing them to ease the sudden ache throbbing through him.

Lexi put a hand on his shoulder and looked to Liam. “Let him rest. He should be fine by the time we reach the Nexus.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, Ryder. We infiltrated the ship after Cora confirmed she’d neutralized the immediate threat. That’s when we found the other two kidnappers.” Liam glanced at Reyes. He still didn’t trust Reyes, but he couldn’t deny he respected him much more after Reyes had begged Scott to stay away from the trap rather than save him. “I hope he’s okay.”

Scott nodded his thanks, too tired to speak anymore. Lexi shooed Liam out of the room and draped a blanket over Scott’s shoulders.

Scott rested his head on Reyes’ bed. It wasn’t the most comfortable sleeping position, but it allowed him to place his hand over Reyes’. Having contact with him, knowing he was safe and being cared for, eased the heavy weight crushing his chest.

He slept.

***

It was a long time before Reyes finally woke. SAM had announced the tranquilizer was out of Scott’s system, and Scott slept off the lingering effects. He let Lexi talk him into a quick shower, but refused to leave Reyes’ side after that.

The crew brought him food and came by to check on him. Even once they’d docked at the Nexus and taken the kidnappers to be locked up, Scott refused to leave the med bay. 

So when Reyes finally opened his eyes, Scott’s heart slammed against his ribs. He touched Reyes’ hand.

“Reyes?” he said softly. 

Reyes turned his head, winced as the injured part touched the pillow, and turned his head back to its original position. His eyes fell on Scott, and alertness hit his eyes, his body jerking.

“It’s okay!” Scott said hastily. “You’re okay. We’re on the Tempest.”

“The...Tempest,” Reyes mumbled, closing his eyes and scrunching up his face in concentration. He slowly opened his eyes again after a minute. “Scott, what happened? How did you…?”

Scott explained their plan and the rescue mission. Reyes listened solemnly. 

When Scott finished, Reyes let out a dry laugh. “You stubborn idiot. I told you it was a trap.”

“Trap or not, I wasn’t leaving you,” Scott said firmly. 

Reyes closed his eyes again. “And I won’t forget that.”

“Reyes, how did they get you?” Scott asked quietly.

Reyes opened his eyes and looked at Scott. He blew out a sigh.

“They had a recording of your voice. I was walking back to Tartarus after meeting with a contact, and I heard your voice calling my name. I…” He groaned, pressed a hand to his face. “I dropped my guard just enough that I didn’t notice someone coming up behind me. They hit me in the head. I didn’t lose consciousness right away, so they hit me again. Then I woke up in that room. I pretended to still be out. I heard them arguing over whether to kill me as soon as they had you, or keep me alive to make sure you’d cooperate the whole time. They planned to drug you and then kill me. When they realized I was eavesdropping, they started punching me.” 

He slumped back against the bed, looking exhausted. Scott squeezed his hand.

“I know you. I knew you’d come. I couldn’t…” He took a deep breath. “The thought of you letting yourself be captured for me when they were just going to kill me anyways was horrible. I was hoping I could warn you it was a trap and your crew would keep you from going into it.” 

“I’m sorry,” Scott said, and suddenly his shoulders were trembling and his throat ached with tears. “They took you because of me. They tortured you because of me.”

“There are plenty of people who want to torture me regardless of who I sleep with,” Reyes said, a weak grin coming to his face. He reached out with his good hand and stroked it along Scott’s cheek. “If you blame yourself for this, I’m not going to take you on romantic dates to storage closets anymore.”

“But-”

“Scott.” Reyes cut him off with a serious look. “This isn’t your fault. If we weren’t dating, they would’ve gone after one of your friends. They were going to take someone. There’s nothing you could’ve done to stop it from happening. I don’t blame you, I’m not going to dump you because I’m scared, and if you don’t wipe that grief-stricken look off your face I’m going to be pissed.” 

Scott pressed a hand over his eyes, trying to calm himself. He knew Reyes was right, but it didn’t make it any easier. The idea of people he loved getting hurt or killed for him was agonizing, especially after he sacrifice his dad made. 

“We’re docked at the Nexus. It’ll be a bit before we head back to Kadara,” he said at last.

Reyes gestured to himself. “I don’t think I’m exactly going to be roughing up my opponents anytime soon. I’m not worried about getting back.”

“How do you feel?” Scott asked.

“Like I was kidnapped and tortured,” Reyes said. “Typical week as the Charlatan, and the Pathfinder’s boyfriend.” At Scott’s expression, Reyes sighed loudly. “Don’t make me kiss the pout off your face.” He waited, then leaned forward. “Well, if I have to…”

The kiss was slow, careful. Reyes’ still had a split lip, and sitting up seemed to hurt his head injury.

Scott put his hand on the back of Reyes’ neck and carefully guided his head back down to the pillow. Reyes tested his broken arm, found he could move it fairly well, and reached out to tug Scott onto the bed next to him. 

“I hate them,” Scott mumbled, pressing his face against Reyes’ neck and kissing the uninjured skin there. 

“Really? I thought we had a blossoming friendship,” Reyes said. “That man digging his unwashed fingers into my stab wound really sealed the deal.”

It wasn’t funny, but Scott didn’t lecture Reyes on it. If humor was how he coped with what he’d been through, who was Scott to tell him it was wrong?

“I’ll stay with you for a while. Then I’m going to question those sick fucks and make sure they’re locked up for the rest of their pathetic lives. If there are anymore of them out there, we’ll catch them,” Scott said. 

“From what I overheard, they just wanted to bargain with your life for resources so they could start their own community,” Reyes said. He turned and kissed Scott’s hair, dropping his voice. “Thank you for coming for me. As stupid a choice as it was, I will never forget that you saved me.”

“I’ll always come for you, Reyes,” Scott said seriously. 

Reyes stared into Scott’s eyes. He wanted to tell Scott that no one else would’ve come for him. He wanted to tell Scott he’d been willing to die if it meant keeping Scott safe. He wanted to tell Scott that he’d endure endless torture to protect him. He wanted to tell Scott he loved him.

But the words crammed in his throat, so instead, he kissed Scott again, hoping he knew. Scott reached out and lightly squeezed his hip. 

“Get some rest,” Scott said. “I’ll be right here.”

“Going to play nurse?” Reyes asked with the hint of a smirk.

“Oh my god,” Scott said. “I’m going to dig my unwashed fingers into your stab wound if you keep it up.”

“Can’t wait to be inside me, huh?” Reyes said.

“I cannot believe I risked my life for you,” Scott said, but he was laughing.

Reyes smiled and curled against him. His head throbbed, his arm hurt, and his chest felt like it was on fire. 

But as Scott’s arms wrapped around him, gentle and warm, he felt safe. Scott would always come for him. And he would always protect Scott.

There was a long road ahead of them after this, but they would walk it together. 

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written Ryder/Reyes in a while, so even if this was a bit...much?? it was still fun to write! I'll have to get back into Andromeda and try something a little less angsty in the future...


End file.
